Air Conditioning

MOT Testing

The annual Ministry of Transport (MoT) test is a legal requirement for any car older than three years old. It tests vehicle safety, roadworthiness and exhaust emissions.
Without an MoT certificate, you are unable to drive your vehicle lawfully, unable to renew your road tax and in most cases, your insurance agreement will become invalid meaning that should you be involved in an accident, you will not be covered.

MOT Testing While You Shop

MOT Testing takes about an hour to complete and our Birmingham MOT Testing centre is ideally located within walking distance of a 24 hour ASDA Superstore with cafe so you can do a little shopping or grab a coffee while you wait.

Beat the most frequent fails

Are all lights fully working? Have someone sit in the car while you walk around checking every light. Front, rear, headlights and dipped, hazards and indicators. If any aren’t working, buy a new bulb for a few quid and replace it. It’s easy in most cars, though a few do make it more complex.

Check suspension. While a full suspension check is difficult, to see if the shock absorbers have gone, quickly apply your weight to each corner of the car then release. It should quickly settle back. If not, it’s possibly a shock problem.

Is there tension on the handbrake? Not easy to do yourself, and it will need a proper mechanic to fix. If your brakes feel loose and unresponsive, or the handbrake slides up without resistance and can’t be ratched at a set level, it’s likely there’s a problem.

Check tyre pressure. To check tyre pressure, look up what they should be, and fill ‘em up at a petrol station.

Check tyre tread. This is the depth of grooves for road grip. The legal minimum’s 1.6mm for a car tyre (enough to let surface water slip through).

Is the driver’s windscreen damaged? Damage in the driver’s central view should be no larger than 10mm. In the whole of the swept area, it should be no larger than 40mm. If it is, get it fixed pre-test (often this is included by car insurance policies).

Windscreen wipers? Front wipers are in the check and need to clear the windscreen in conjunction with the washers.

Is the exhaust leaking? To check, start the engine (in a well-ventilated place, at normal temperature) and from the rear of the car listen for any unusual noises or abnormal smoke. These indicate a leak, which you should fix pre-MOT.

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What Our Customers Say

Bloody awesome mechanic and nice guy too.Sure he has helped out loads of folk on the forum. I had a BCM fault recently and had no hesitation in driving over 200 miles round trip to let the expert have a look and he fixed it for a fraction of the cost Hyundai would charge and by the time I had had a couple of coffees and a walk around it was done.THREE CHEERS FOR ROSS YAY adamski – HCOC